How to choose yogurt correctly

　　Although yogurt is good, there are many yogurt products on the market. Not all yogurts are of such good quality and standard, so when choosing, you should choose carefully according to your needs.

　　1. The most recommended thing is that the protein content of pure plain yogurt should be above 2.5%. If it is less than 2.3%, it is not yogurt and is not recommended for consumption. Lactic acid bacteria drinks and milk drinks are beverages, not dairy products. They have low nutritional value, high sugar content, and a lot of added flavors and pigments. The main function of these drinks is to make people gain weight. If you are afraid of too many calories, you can choose low-fat yogurt, but the protein content cannot be low.

　　2. Prioritize the freshest yogurt that is closest to the production date. The fresher the yogurt, the higher the activity and the greater the number of lactic acid bacteria, and the stronger the health care effect.

　　However, it should be noted that after yogurt is stored for a long time, although the loss of lactic acid bacteria will be great, the other nutritional values ​​​​of yogurt are still there, and it is still a very good nutritious food. If it has been stored for a long time, you can drink it as long as it does not deteriorate or develop a musty or strange smell. So when we occasionally cook and heat yogurt to make food, or freeze it and eat it as a cold drink, although the lactic acid bacteria are gone, the nutritional value is not greatly affected.

　　3. Yogurt with fruit pieces may not be good. Fruit yogurt is more expensive and seems to be more nutritious, but it is not. Adding fruits and fruit pieces reduces the protein content per unit of yogurt. The protein content of flavored yogurt is generally 2.3%, which is lower than the 2.5-3% of plain yogurt. On the other hand, it is difficult to guarantee the freshness of fruits in yogurt. Imagine that the shelf life of yogurt is more than half a month, and the fruits are also in it for such a long time. And when we eat fruits ourselves, who would put the fruits aside for half a month before eating them? So it is better to use plain yogurt and add fresh fruit to eat it yourself. It tastes better and is guaranteed to be fresh.

　　5. Thickeners in yogurt. Thickeners are added to almost all yogurts on the market today. Some people are disgusted with thickeners. In fact, if you see the duality of thickeners, you will have a more objective understanding of them. On the one hand, thickeners will also dilute the nutrients of yogurt, but on the other hand, qualified thickeners are actually dietary fiber, which can increase a certain sense of satiety and prevent constipate It's not a bad thing. The main function of thickeners is to increase the thick taste, which is actually the taste that many consumers like. So don’t be too disgusted with thickeners.

　　6. Old yogurt Old yogurt is very popular in the market recently. The texture of this old yogurt looks similar to the old yogurt, but actually there are some differences inside. Old yogurt in the past did not have any coagulant added, but the lactic acid caused the milk protein to form a special gel state during fermentation (just like the coagulated state of homemade yogurt). This kind of self-solidification is very fragile. A little stirring or shaking will cause the yogurt to return to an uneven liquid state, which will not look good and is not conducive to transportation and storage. Therefore, for a long time, almost all the yogurt we bought was stirred. Just stir the solidified yogurt until it becomes a thick liquid.

　　However, in order to achieve the purpose of solidification, the old yogurt sold outside almost always adds more gelatin, pectin, agar and other vegetable gums as coagulants to keep the yogurt in a relatively strong solidified state, which is convenient for transportation and the product sells well. However, their nutritional content has not increased, some are lower than ordinary yogurt, and the price is much higher than ordinary yogurt products.

　　So if you want to get the nutritional value of yogurt, old yogurt is not necessarily better than ordinary yogurt. Although it is yogurt, it is not cost-effective. Even though its nutritional value is the same as other products, it costs more to buy.

　　In addition, because there are too many coagulants such as gelatin, the yogurt texture is difficult to stir. If old yogurt is used as a yogurt starter, it will not be easy to mix evenly with milk. Therefore, it is not recommended to use old yogurt as strains for homemade yogurt.

　　This kind of jelly-type yogurt is not suitable for children under three years old because it has a good freezing effect and is not easy to stir into a liquid state. Just like eating jelly, there is a risk of children choking the yogurt into their trachea. Parents must be careful.